An online shoe retailer started by two De Montfort University graduates was highly commended at a national awards ceremony.

Kindred Sole came second out of five finalists in the Footwear Brand of the Year category at the Footwear Industry Awards 2012, held in Birmingham on Sunday night.

Big names such as Fit Flop, Kurt Gieger and Nike were among the brands nominated in categories.

Kindred Sole, a Loughborough business, was set up two years ago by Lizzie Leary, 23, and Beth Widdowson, 24, and now ships as far as Australia.

It lost out to category winners Swiss-based Rieker, one of the largest shoe-makers in Europe.

Lizzie said: "At every stage of the awards we were amazed at how far Kindred Sole had got.

"It was fantastic to hear us being read out as highly commended.

"To see Kindred Sole next to household names is a dream come true."